CoorongMore than 80 phytoplankton species there can produce toxins.
Pipis, mussels, insects and small fish all eat phytoplankton, so shifts reach the whole food web.
Freshwater inflows set salinity and water level, which most shaped abundance, diversity and community structure across 16 years of data.
Bloom-forming species remain low overall in the Coorong, the researchers found.
Drought-driven high salinity raises dinoflagellate bloom risk, while nutrient-rich low-salinity water favours cyanobacteria.
How each outlet framed it
- Phys.org
- frames the Coorong research around harmful algal blooms and food-web risk from phytoplankton species and salinity
Sources: Phys.org